From beer hall to beer haul: Records show Adolf Hitler enjoyed special treatment in prison

BERLIN – Historical documents show Adolf Hitler enjoyed special treatment, including plentiful supplies of beer, during his time in Landsberg prison.

The Nazi leader was imprisoned there following the unsuccessful Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, when Hitler tried to seize power in Bavaria.

German historian Peter Fleischmann, who heads the Bavarian state archives in Nuremberg, says a review of prison records reveals Hitler and fellow members of the Nazi Party "had their path greased for them" compared to other inmates.

Fleischmann said Tuesday the records, some of which were missing for decades, show Hitler received 330 visitors during his year at Landsberg.

Fleischmann's 552-page book also appears to confirm a British WWII-era joke about Hitler. Medical records from his arrival in Landsberg state he suffered from unilateral cryptorchidism, an undescended right testicle.